Courses for Spring 2019

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Ancient Science, Medicine and Magic

What are the origins of scientific thought? How does it differ from other systems of knowledge, such as magic or myth? In this course, we will examine the cultural and intellectual history of science, medicine and magic in the Ancient World. We will delve into such topics as cosmology, zoology, geography, astrology, Hippocratic medicine, and scientific methodology. Discover how Thales predicted an eclipse, why Aristotle was afraid of seals, and how the Stoics justified their belief in divination. All students welcome.

The World of Byzantium

Caught between the East and West, the culture of Byzantium inherited the ancient worlds of Greece, Rome, and Jerusalem, nurturing many a modern ideology, conflict, and identity. Byzantium is explored through its history, texts, and art. We examine the foundation and history of Constantinople, Iconoclasm, the Crusades, medieval Christianity and Islam, Byzantine court life, concepts of gender, self, and sexuality.

From Antiquity to the Humanities (via Humanism) and the History of Ideas

This course looks at the origins of several subjects in the Humanities in order to explain, question, and sometimes challenge the ways in which those subjects are studied or understood today. Consideration of sources for the Humanities today – in the educational practices of classical antiquity, in the 'humanism' of the Renaissance and in the 17th-20th centuries– will throw new light on ideas and categories which are central to western education. Topics include grammar/language, persuasive argument, scholarship; theory/practice of history, literature, poetry, fiction, fantasy, and the novel; relationship between words and images, and connections between studying the Humanities and being human.

The Bhagavad Gītā

This course will study and discuss the teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā in the context of its literary, theological, and philosophical origins in ancient India. We will read the text itself (in English, not Sanskrit), parts of the epic Mahābhārata in which the Gītā is situated, and collateral texts, such as Upanisads, Indian myths, Buddhist sermons, or even modern novels, that may shed light on why and how this text has exercised such far-reaching influence across the ages, inside India and beyond.

Greek Mythology

Goddesses, heroes, monsters: it’s time for some Greek Myth. We will cover the stories of creation, Pandora, the Trojan Cycle, the legends of Thebes (Oedipus and co.), the Golden Fleece, Greco-Roman gods, Hercules and other heroes, and many, many more myths. But we will also think about the telling of these myths. What do the tellers need from these stories? How do they change them to fit their contexts? And is it possible to separate the “myth” from any particular telling of it? No prerequisites required; all texts in translation.

The American Presidents and the Western Tradition

We are accustomed to engaging the American presidency as a public office best approached through the prism of government or political science, but this course studies the ways in which the presidents in thought and action are part of a larger continuum of humanistic expression in the western tradition. It is organized around five categories: memory, language, consolation, farewell, and self-reflection. Our work involves reading and viewing/listening to various materials, including videos and original documents. The words we study, both by and about presidents, will be compared to various masterworks of Greco-Roman antiquity and the western Middle Ages.

Literature of Empires

This course compares and contrasts the literatures of the ancient empires of East and West Asia (including the Mediterranean), with an emphasis on Chinese and Greco-Roman cultures. We will explore the literary discourses that grew up in support of and in opposition to imperialism and colonization; specific topics may include how empires use mythology, how tensions between centers and peripheries create imperial identities, how an empire assimilates a multiethnic past, the constitution of archives, and what “classic” means to different audiences. All readings will be in English.

Late Plato

This course investigates Plato’s response to difficulties posed in his Parmenides about the theory of Forms. To flesh out the theory we will look back at the Phaedo and Republic, and to understand his revisions we will read a series of dialogues responding to the Parmenides: Theaetetus (on knowledge), Sophist (on truth and falsehood), and Statesman (on method and politics). These dialogues present themselves as philosophical exercises to train the audience in philosophy and promise a final member to complete the series, but the Philosopher is missing. A question: can we find Plato’s philosopher in the series we have?

Roman History II: The Roman Empire and Its Impact

The social and political history of the Roman Empire (14-565 CE). Focuses on expansion, administration, and Romanization of the empire; crisis of the 3rd century; militarization of society and monarchy; the struggle between paganism and Christianity; the end of the Empire in the West. Special attention given to the role of women, slaves, law, and historiography. Ancient sources in translation.

Ancient Novel

Sex, pirates, powerful goddesses, and mistaken identities: these are just some of the aspects of the so-called Ancient Novel and its parodies. In this course we will investigate how a few fictional texts from the 1st-3rd centuries A.D. construct their characters' gender and sexuality, and therefore reflect concerns about wisdom, power, and difference within the Roman Empire.

Thesis Preparation

Courses of Interest to Classics Concentrators

The following courses may be of interest to students who are interested in Classics. Classics concentrators should talk to their concentration advisor to see which of these courses may be taken for concentration credit. Please see the sponsoring department for the time and location of each course.